West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Nuclear Weapons In The West Midlands

Highly dangerous military convoys carrying nuclear warheads travel regularly up and down the country by road – between the nuclear warhead factory at Burghfield (near Aldermaston) in Berkshire and the Trident nuclear base at Coulport in Scotland. No radiation warning symbols are carried and neither the public nor local authorities are warned of these nuclear convoys.

They use the West Midlands motorway network, often by night.

Two of the most used routes for the warhead convoys are M40, M42 (west), M5, M6 and M40, M42 (north), M6. These are some of the most congested motorways in the country. The police are told when a convoy is expected, but fire and ambulance services are told only at the discretion of the police.

These lorries carry nuclear materials including those from decommissioned warheads, for new warheads and for nuclear reactors for submarines.

They can use the same West Midlands motorways as the warhead convoys, but travel faster (up to 60mph) and do not travel at night. They also travel to the Rolls Royce factory Derby, sometimes using the M42, M6 and A38, or sometimes the M1.

We believe that the public should be told of the dangers of possessing nuclear weapons.